On Aug. 10, 1975, I was introduced to Kim Eistetter. We finally met 16,084 days later.

Kim Loffler, left, who in 1975 was the torch-bearer of the Western Canada Summer Games in Regina, stands next to her husband Jeff Loffler in front of their home.Brandon Harder /
Regina Leader-Post

She is now Kim Loffler, having exchanged vows with her husband Jeff in 1982. Seven years earlier, there was another ceremony of note.

Kim carried the torch into and around Taylor Field to mark the commencement of the inaugural Western Canada Summer Games.

As an 11-year-old sapling, I was among 18,100 people who attended the opening ceremonies and watched Kim do a lap of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ home field before ascending the stairs and igniting the Games’ flame.

Until then, I was in a toxic mood. Kim, my future friend, helped to save the day.

During the afternoon of Aug. 10, the Roughriders somehow lost to the visiting B.C. Lions, an outcome that did not sit especially well with yours truly.

After all, the Roughriders NEVER lost to B.C. at home. Never, never, never. Ever.

Not to my recollection, anyway.

The Lions had not won at Taylor Field since Sept. 27, 1965, when the visitors prevailed 26-14. Saskatchewan won each of its next 14 home games against B.C.

Then came 1975, when Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Rhett Dawson, Steve Mazurak, George Wells, Lorne Richardson, Alan Ford, Jim Hopson and associates won each of their first three games.

The Lions, meanwhile, endured an 0-3 start before travelling to Regina to, as I presumed, provide fodder for the cannon that was ignited in the south end zone after each Saskatchewan touchdown.

Lions 28, Roughriders 27.

I can still see Jim Young, Dirty 30, running away from the Roughriders’ secondary, proceeding due south in a hurry, after catching a long pass from Peter Liske.

As 21,804 spectators shuffled out of Piffles Taylor’s playground, I was not in the mood to return to the scene of the catastrophe.

However, Mom had purchased tickets to the Western Canada Summer Games’ opening ceremonies, to be held that evening, so we returned to the facility after supper.

From the east-side stands, we watched the introduction of the teams — B.C. in royal blue and yellow, Manitoba in brown, Alberta in navy, and then Saskatchewan.

Suddenly, it was a great day for the green and white.

The crowd stood and erupted.

At that point, everyone in attendance was introduced to Kim, who was 17. She entered the stadium via a south-end gate, proudly holding the torch.

“I heard the crowd and thought, ‘Oh my gosh,’ ” Kim recalled earlier this week at a local coffee emporium of some charm.

“I had been standing behind the gate and I was nervous. I didn’t have a visual picture of how many people were in the stands.

“Getting on to the field was quite intimidating, because of the size of the crowd. It seemed like it took forever to get around the field. It was amazing, because the crowd was clapping and cheering the whole way. I can still hear that.”

So can I. It was a landmark moment in Saskatchewan sporting history.

With that in mind — and with the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games underway in Swift Current and area — the thought occurred to me: “Whatever happened to Kim Eistetter?”

So I emailed Mark Bracken, Saskatchewan’s chef de mission for the 2019 Games, and he provided a lead. One Google search and a couple of phone calls later, I was exchanging emails with the wonderful Kim Loffler.

Kim was delighted to chat, although she prefers to discuss her children — Jesse (age 36), Alyssa (34), Kaela (30) and Taylor (27).

Taylor, a member of the Montreal Alouettes, was the CFL’s all-star safety with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in each of the past three seasons.

Each of his siblings has also been active and successful in sports, at which Jeff and Kim excelled.

The four children of Jeff and Kim Loffler — left to right: Taylor, Alyssa, Kaela and Jesse.Kim Loffler

Jeff, for example, is a former member of the University of Regina Cougars men’s basketball team.

Kim competed in the 1973 Canada Summer Games (in track and field) and 1975 Canada Winter Games (volleyball) before the Regina Lions Track Club submitted what turned out to be a successful nomination for torch-bearer.

“It was obviously a huge honour,” she reflected. “I didn’t take it lightly. I had been entrusted with a very important role … and I didn’t do a face-plant and snuff out the flame in front of almost 20,000 people!

“When I got to the stairs, there were about 40 steps to the top, and then there was a big basin for the flame. I remember thinking, ‘What if I dip the torch into the basin and the flame doesn’t ignite? What do I do then?’ ”

Kim then mimicked the gesture of staring at a crowd of 18,100 people and shrugging her shoulders, as if to say, “What can you do?”

It never came to that, fortunately.

“Amazing!” she said, smiling. “It worked!”

A few weeks later, Kim returned to Campbell Collegiate for her Grade 12 year. (For the following school year — 1976-77 — a photo of Kim with the torch appeared on the cover of Regina Board of Education’s elementary-school exercise books.)

She graduated early, in January of 1976, in order to move to Edmonton to train with the national jumps coach.

Kim refined the skills that allowed her to win medals in long jump and relay events at national indoor and outdoor track championships. She also earned a medal in long jump at the 1977 World Cup trials.

She had hoped to compete at the 1978 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Edmonton, but she tore a hamstring about two months before the qualifying event. A recuperation period of 12 to 18 months was prescribed.

Kim opted to concentrate on her studies at the University of Alberta, from which she received a degree in special education.

While in Edmonton, she also met Jeff, a newly graduated dentist who later specialized in orthodontics. From track, the focus turned to vocational and family matters.

“When you put all the other experiences aside, the most meaningful and fulfilling part is time spent with my kids and my grandkids,” said Kim, a proud grandmother to Alyssa’s daughters, Olivia, Isla and Everly Craparo.

Life’s experiences have taken the Lofflers around the country — to Edmonton, Kelowna and, of course, Regina — with stops in Australia and Montana. Kim has taught and coached in all three countries in which she has lived.

The Lofflers’ children now live in Montreal (Taylor), Pittsburgh (where Jesse is a corporate lawyer), Stockholm, Sweden (Kaela is a marketing vice-president) and Austin, Texas (Alyssa is an interior designer). Jeff and Kim have resided in Regina for the past six years.

“It’s kind of funny,” Kim reflected. “We’ve come full circle.”

The full circle of Taylor Field — a lap that Kim performed flawlessly in front of more than 18,000 people — is 44 years in the past.

But the former Kim Eistetter is still blessed with the ability to instantly brighten someone’s day.

The four children of Kim Loffler — left to right: Taylor, Alyssa, Kaela and Jesse. Taylor Loffler has played in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Kim Loffler, formerly Kim Eistetter, lit the torch at the first Western Canada Summer Games, held in Regina in 1975. Photo courtesy Kim Loffler.Kim Loffler

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